Women’s rugby breaks program scoring record in win

The Quinnipiac women’s rugby team picked up its second straight shut out en route to a 94-0 victory over SUNY New Paltz this afternoon in Hamden, Conn.

The Bobcats have outscored their opponents 185-0 in their last two games after defeating Binghamton 91-0 last week. Today’s margin of defeat was a new program record for the team in their second year of action. The 94 points is also a program record for points scored in a match.

Last season, Quinnipiac (3-0) got its first win in program history against SUNY New Paltz with a 15-5 win. Today’s performance showed how much difference one year can make for a program, especially one that is coming off its inaugural season.

“The first year we were basically learning the game,” Quinnipiac head coach Becky Carlson said as she began to smile. “We were learning the positions and the rules so there was a lot they had to learn.”

Three games into the 2012 campaign, the Bobcats have tied their win mark from last season when they went 3-6-1. They have also joined the Tri-State Rugby Conference which standings are slightly different that most sports.

“There is no slaughter rule in rugby, and our standings go by points,” Carlson said. “The more points that you score, it helps you in the standings. Not just wins and losses in the Tri-State Rugby Conference so it’s really important for us to do that. If another team plays and scores not as high, there is a difference in the standings.”

Carlson added that the scoring isn’t what makes her the happiest but rather the team effort that comes in creating the eventual scores.

Last weekend, 12 different players converted a try and this week Carlson saw her team perform in similar fashion. Eleven players scored today as Kriystin Orrico and Allison Gnys were a combined 7-for-16 on conversion attempts.

Quinnipiac women’s rugby will look to extend its winning streak to four next weekend as they take on Vassar on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. in Poughkeepsie N.Y.

“Vassar is one of the most competitive teams we have in our conference,” Carlson said. “They are going to be doing the basics the right way and they are going to take it to us. They are very strong in their forwards but we are going to go back to fundamentals. That’s what we have to do. Some of that stuff gets lost when it’s a score like this but it’s going to be exciting next weekend.”